According to the report of a survey, violence against children is on the rise in Nigeria. David Arome reports
The increase violence against children in Nigeria is at alarming rate, begging for urgent attention to address the ugly menace.
Report findings from a National Survey 2014, showed that “More than half of the children experience physical violence between the ages of 6 and 11. Approximately 70% of males and females who had experienced sexual violence reported more than one incident of sexual violence and one in six females and one in five males reported emotional violence in childhood, with over 80% experiencing multiple incidents.”
The prime perpetrators of this dastardly act are most often parents and other includes people well known to the children.
The survey further indicated a high prevalence of sexual, physical and emotional violence against children in Nigeria. 6 out of 10 children will suffer one or more forms of violence before the age of 18 years. According to the survey, very few children speak out about their experiences, and even fewer seek or receive services or justice. No more than 6.0% sought help and less than 5.0% received help.
Several forms of violence against children do exist. Unfortunately, up to half of the Nigerian children population experience one form of violence or the other. To address this, CCPN in collaboration with UNICEF hosted a Strategy and Media Materials Development Workshop with stakeholders from Plateau, Gombe, Lagos and Cross Rivers states. The essence and purpose of the workshop was to develop a communication strategy to address communication issues around Violence Against Children.
In a reaction to the report of National Survey 2014 by the National Population Commission on Violence Against Children, President Buhari launched the Year of Action to End Violence Against Children on 15th September 2016. UNICEF Nigeria and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention provided technical and financial support for this national survey.